1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates generally to dispensing of small portions of thin webs from rolls by pulling and tearing, and more specifically to an adapter configured to be fitted onto conventional dispensing boxes to improve their dispensing action.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for the dispensing of small portions of sheet material from rolls of indeterminant length are, of course, well known and have a long history of developement. A significant number of U.S. Patents teach methods and apparatus to accomplish a wide variety of dispensing actions, and are reflective of the amount of effort which have been put into this area over the years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,334,997 to Doll discloses one approach to the dispensing of paper products from a hand held container using a pulling and tearing action, wherein the user by hand pressure may somewhat control the pulling action, and the cutting action is accomplished against a sharp edge located along one extremity of a triangular shaped box.
In another U.S. Pat. No. 2,614,015 to MeGchee there is disclosed a wall mounted box, formed of two parts, which is used to dispense wax paper. A cut-out access hole through both parts is provided to allow the user to insert a finger and coax out the next portion of web to be pulled out and torn off.
Also, Canadian Pat. No. 541,507 to Finkel teaches yet another approach to controlling the pulling/tearing action of a sheet material dispenser. In this patent, we see a steel spring having a plastic/rubber coated end positioned so as to contact the web as it is pulled from between two surfaces forming a container housing the roll of material. The spring loaded coated end is angled so as to exert a type of ratchet action on the web being dispensed to overcome possible roll recoil action.
Due to the increasing availability of, and continuous demand for, disposable household products such as wax paper, plastic wrap, and the like, an entire industry has emerged to produce the containers and dispensers needed to carry these products. Lacking any industry-wide standards, the resulting dispensing boxes of the tear-off type include a bewildering array of approaches to the manipulative tasks which must be mastered to beneficially use the products being dispensed. Many of the existing boxes represent difficult puzzles to the users as they try to operate them; while others pose safety hazards as novice fingers attempt to work in close proximity to the sharp cutting edges which may be positioned in entirely unexpected or out of view places. These puzzles include the steps of; initially opening the dispensing box and removing the first portion of the web; arranging the web ends for property tearing against a possibly as yet unknown tearing edge; and deftly controlling the pulling rate while preventing unwanted recoil after the desired length of web is pulled and torn.
Many of these difficulties are, however, largely the result of a lack of user familiarity with the particular techniques needed to manipulate a particular dispensing box--which technique may not be appropriate to the very next dispensing box which the user is called on to handle. Therefore, it is clear that a need exists for a dispensing aid which will mitigate these difficulties, and which will provide the user with a straight-forward device which allows a single, well known, and well controlled dispensing technique to be applied to the wide range of dispensing boxes in existence. The improved dispenser adapter taught in the present invention admirably meets this need.